15Oct15

ISIL-Linked Hacker Arrested in Malaysia on U.S. Charges

Defendant Charged with Providing Material Support to ISIL and Computer Hacking
Related to the Theft and Distribution of U.S. Military and Federal Employee Personal
Information

Malaysian authorities have detained Kosovo citizen Ardit Ferizi in Malaysia on
a U.S. provisional arrest warrant alleging that he provided material support to
the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist
organization, and committed computer hacking and identity theft violations in
conjunction with the theft and release of personally identifiable information
(PII) of U.S. service members and federal employees. The criminal complaint
was unsealed today. The United States is seeking his extradition to the U.S.
Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of Virginia to stand trial.

The charges were announced by Assistant Attorney General for National
Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of
Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Paul Abbate of the FBI's Washington,
D.C.'s Field Office.

As alleged in the criminal complaint, Ferizi, also known by his hacking moniker
"Th3Dir3ctorY," is believed to be the leader of a Kosovar internet hacking
group called Kosova Hacker's Security (KHS). Ferizi hacked into the computer
system of a victim company located in the United States and stole the PII of
thousands of individuals. He then provided the PII of over 1,000 U.S. service
members and federal employees to ISIL to be used against those employees.
Between June and August 2015, Ferizi provided unlawfully obtained PII to
ISIL member Junaid Hussain, aka Abu Hussain al-Britani. On Aug. 11, 2015,
in the name of the Islamic State Hacking Division (ISHD), Hussain posted a
tweet titled "NEW: U.S. Military AND Government HACKED by the Islamic
State Hacking Division!" which contained a hyperlink to a 30-page document.
That document stated, in part, that "we are in your emails and computer
systems, watching and recording your every move, we have your names and
addresses, we are in your emails and social media accounts, we are extracting
confidential data and passing on your personal information to the soldiers of
the khilafah, who soon with the permission of Allah will strike at your necks in
your own lands!" The next 27 pages of the document contained the names,
e-mail addresses, e-mail passwords, locations and phone numbers for
approximately 1,351 U.S. military and other government personnel. This
posting was intended to provide ISIL supporters in the United States and
elsewhere with the PII belonging to the listed government employees for the
purpose of encouraging terrorist attacks against those individuals.

"As alleged, Ardit Ferizi is a terrorist hacker who provided material support to
ISIL by stealing the personally identifiable information of U.S. service
members and federal employees and providing it to ISIL for use against those
employees," said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. "This case is a first of its
kind and, with these charges, we seek to hold Ferizi accountable for his theft
of this information and his role in ISIL's targeting of U.S. government
employees. This arrest demonstrates our resolve to confront and disrupt
ISIL's efforts to target Americans, in whatever form and wherever they occur."

"National security is compromised by computer intrusions, and Ferizi is
charged with obtaining the personal identifying information of U.S. military
and government personnel and providing it to ISIL," said U.S. Attorney
Boente. "We will investigate and prosecute these cyber-attacks to fullest
extent of the law."

If convicted, the defendant faces up to 35 years.

The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the
defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The investigation is being conducted by the FBI. The case is being
prosecuted by Trial Attorney Gregory Gonzalez of the National Security
Division's Counterterrorism Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynn Haaland
of the Eastern District of Virginia. The Assistant Attorney General, U.S.
Attorney and FBI Assistant Director thanked the Malaysian authorities for their
assistance in this matter.

[Source: DOJ, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, 15Oct15]

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